The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-01-29


brave and daring, too, little sister Sue
would think him!
A minute more Sam was near the
summit. There's young 'uns in it, u
he cried; there's young 'uns, but not
old enough to take. Oh! say, fancy
taking young ravens. 1 shall come
again" Willy fairly tremb led with ex-
element. Then Sam reached the top,
and threw himself on the grass, pant
ing. "Oh! it is a fine nest" he said,
''made of sticks and wool and reeds.
You go down, VIII, but mind how you
go"
The little boy took the rope from
Sam, and tied it with trembling fingers
under his arms, as he had seen Sam
do. "Where is the nest, Sam?" he
cried.
"'Bowt half way down on little bit
of ledge. You can't mistake it. And
perhaps you'll see the old bird coming
to feed the young 'uns; if you do, hide,
COS they're powerful strong and that
cross! They polish Of young sheep
sometimes"
With fear and excitement, and pleas
ure at taking part in such daring adj
venture, Willy stepped forward and be-
gan his descent.
"Mind how you co. cried Sam; ''look
out for a good foothold."
Willy soon found it was very diff
cult undertaking. The ground often
crumbled and slipped from his feet or
else the face of the cliff was too stony
and steep to afford any resting-place
for his feet
Hold the rope" he cried again and
again as he clutched to it, and to do
Sam justice, that sturdy young boy did
hold it fast, twisting it around the pole,
and only paying it out by slow degrees,
Willy was not so old or SO skillful as
Sam, and his descent was longer and
much more hazardous. If Sam had
been no better mountaineer, Willy
could not have done for him what he
now did for Willy.
At last, with a throb of joy, the little
lad spied, not very far below him. the
long-sought nest. 1t was, us Sam had
said, made of reeds and wool and small
sticks, and Willy could see something
raw, unhedged little things-in it,
that he knew were the young birds. He
shouted for joy! But, just as he was
carefully picking his way down to the
nest, shadow sailed over him, a harsh
croak grated on his ear, and cold fear
lay on his soul! He looked up. The
parent bird was flying at him, and its
broad wings had come between him and
the sun!
The bird pecked at him, and tapped
its huge black pinions, and little Willy
screamed, and yet manfully defended
himself as well as he could with his
fists, meanwhile endeayoring to clam
Der up the cliff away from the nest.
But alas! whether the bird had frayed
the rope in pecking at WHY'S breast,
or whether he had not tied the knot Sc
curely, in one moment, as he stumbled
over bowlder and fell backward, il
became unloosed, and the poor little
boy found himself rolling over and
over sideways, and humping from stone
to stone, catching at grass and roots to
bEeak his fall down, down the steep
cliff slope. And when he reached the
ground aching and bruised all over, he
quite lost consciousness, and knew not
where he was.
When he came to himself, it was to
find that he was being carried home by
his grandfather; but the pain of his
bruises and the shame of his wrong
action kept him from speaking, though
he could not keep from groaning now
and then. When he reached home his
wounds were washed, and he went to
bed, but nothing was said to him for u
few days, until he was recovering.
Then, one afternoon when the slanting
sunbeams We're falling on the wall of
his little room like golden glory, he
himself told how sorry he was for what
he had done, and asked forgiveness.
"But how came you to go?" asked
grandma. "You are generally so ODE
dent, and when Sam Heathcote told us
that you had fallen down the cliff, l
could hardly believe it, because we had
so strongly forbidden you to SC"
Willy flushed as he heard this. 1t
seemed hard to forfeit such good opin-
ion. I'll" he stammered, ''meant to
tell you afterwards"
at was wrong, my boy" said grand
ma, every disobedient of you, and you
see your sin has brought its punish
ment Remember this: BE sure your
sin will find you out 1t always brings
its punishment. Your poor father fell
a victim to his sin. He would drink
till he walked unsteadily, and one ter
rible night, coming over the hills the
worse for liquor, he fell over those
same cliffs, and was found dead"
There was u solemn silence in the lit
tie room, but the words sank deep into
the boys heart. He prayed that he
might always remember the truth en-
bodied in the text: BE sure your sin
will find you out" Nor can he ever
hear now of ravens nest or of
CI.O,, - n.